Iced Tea
Iced tea is made the same as the hot beverage, and may be prepared some hours before using, the infusion being poured off the leaves as soon as the strength is extracted, then cooled, and placed near the ice until required for use; or, the tea may be made at the time of serving and chilled by the plentiful addition of cracked ice. The former is the more economical method. Ice tea should be taken clear and weaker than when served hot and slices of lemon should be served with it.
The instructions assume a household with a block of ice and a tea caddy rather than a refrigerator, and they leave the proportions to the cook. The one thing to take seriously is the direction to pour the infusion off the leaves as soon as the strength is out.
- The hinge: strain immediatelyTea left sitting on its leaves keeps extracting tannin and turns harsh and metallic, and the fault only sharpens as the liquid cools. Steep black tea 3 to 5 minutes in water just off the boil, then pour it off the leaves at once.
- Proportions, since none are givenFor a strong infusion to be diluted, use about 2 tablespoons of loose black tea (or 6 tea bags) to 4 cups of water, then top up with cold water or ice to make 8 cups. The instruction to make it weaker than hot tea is sound: cold blunts aroma but not astringency.
- "Placed near the ice"Likely the ice compartment or coldest part of an icebox. In a modern kitchen, cover the cooled tea and refrigerate it; it is best drunk within a day or so, after which it tastes flat.
- CloudinessTea chilled in the cold often goes cloudy as tannins and caffeine bind. It is harmless and affects looks only; letting the brew cool to room temperature before refrigerating reduces it, and a splash of boiling water is the commonly repeated remedy for a cloudy pitcher.
- The second methodBrewing double-strength and pouring it straight over a full glass of cracked ice is faster, at the cost of the ice. With ice now cheap, the economy the author claims for the first method no longer counts for much.
- "Taken clear"Clear here means without milk, not without sugar. If you sweeten, use a sugar syrup: granulated sugar dissolves poorly in cold tea and settles at the bottom.
- YieldThe quantities above give about eight 8-ounce glasses before ice, or six generous tumblers poured over ice, with lemon slices served alongside rather than muddled in.